Snap Back to Reality
by rokerbaby93087
Summary: The sequel to "Loss of Innocence". Please read and review.
1. A New Beginning

Notes: Woppie! New story! This is Harry's first year of ministry school. In case you don't know, this story is a sequel to my other story Loss of Innocence. I would suggest reading it first, but you don't have to. Basically Harry killed Voldemort – for more detail read the story yourself.

And now – Onward! A nice long one to start out with.

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Beep, beep, beep, beep…

Harry swatted at the alarm, eventually knocking it to the ground. He moaned and rolled over. Ginny looked at him with half open eyes. "Sorry."

"It's alright. I have to get up anyway." Harry rolled over again, falling onto the floor and then getting up. Ginny got up as well. They both stretched. Harry picked up the clock.

"Remind me again why I signed up for a class at eight AM."

"Because it was the only one left."

"Damn my perpetual laziness." He put on his robe and stretched again.

"It happens to the best of us. Come on. You should eat something before you go." She pulled him downstairs to the kitchen. After he was done he went back upstairs, slowly.

"I – hate – stairs," he mumbled. His body wasn't fully awake yet, and his left knee didn't help any. He had nearly broken off the lower half of his left leg when he fought Voldemort for the last time, and now he was paying for it.

He was dressing when Ginny entered. "You're going like that?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why? Something wrong with it?"

"Just because there aren't uniforms doesn't mean you can dress like a homeless person."

"I'm going to wear a robe over it. No one will see it."

"Okay, fine."

Harry went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. It's not the end of the world."

"Fine, fine. It's your body. Dress it however you want."

"I will." He looked at the clock. "Ah, I better get going." He grabbed his books and his robe.

"Got everything?"

"Hopefully. When is your class?"

"Nine to noon. You're till eleven, right?" He nodded and headed downstairs. "Harry?" He stopped and looked to her. "Try to be nice for once. Make a friend."

"I'm always nice."

"Not recently."

"Sorry that I don't like everyone."

"Okay, whatever. Get going." He kissed her and then went out the door, walking down the street. He had to go to the end of the street to apparate in the daylight, or else the muggles on the street might suspect something.

There was a small patch of trees on the corner. Harry went in it and put on his robe. Then, picking back up his books, he popped away.

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The ministry's Auror Academy was like a small prison. Found somewhere in northern England, it was only two floors high and made of steel. Classrooms were small. The building itself was a giant square circle. The bit in the center was for any outside classes or demonstrations. A dormitory building rose behind the school. The entire complex was closed in by a twelve foot high fence and enough magical protection to stop a charging flobberworm.

Harry entered the gates. It was extremely less inviting than Hogwarts had ever been, but he was stuck there. Other students filled in as well. Most of them were silent, looking as lost as Harry was.

Room 213, Harry thought. It would be on the second floor, assuming that the first floor is one hundreds and the second is two hundreds. He walked slowly, looking at the paper in his hand, when he ran straight into a girl.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention. Do you know where room 213 is?"

"No. Actually, I was looking for it myself."

"Really? Then we can find it together. History of protective magic class?"

"Yep."

"Which type of auror are you going for?" she asked as they searched.

Recently Harry had discovered that there was more than one kind of auror. They specialized in different areas, which meant they took different classes. Ginny, for instance, was specializing in poisons and other kinds of medicine. Ron was working in dangerous animal control, and Hermione was doing a general study of everything, like she usually did.

"Umm… spells and jinxes and such. How about you?"

"Old magic. Oh, I lost my manners. I'm Mandi."

"Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Harry." He found it odd that she did not flick her eyes up to his forehead or even acknowledge that she knew which Harry he was. They found 213. She sat next to him, in the back of the room. Harry looked around the room. The professor was not there yet, and students were still arriving.

"Fancy meeting you here," he heard from behind him. Harry turned around. Draco Malfoy had just sat down behind him.

"How did you get in here?"

"Same way everyone else does, Harry."

"Is this a friend of yours, Harry?" Mandi asked.

Draco stood up a bit and extended his hand to her. "Mark Lucas." Mandi introduced herself as well. "Harry and I went to school together. We were good buddies, right Harry?"

"Sure," Harry mumbled. If you think wanting someone dead means being their friend… He was about to turn and ask Draco what the name change was about, but the professor entered. He was a small Spanish man.

"Quiet," the professor said. "I am Professor Pico, history of protective magic, because one must understand where magic came from in order to use it. Any questions? No? Good. Open your books to page three and we will begin."

The class was not much more exciting than the history of magic class had been at Hogwarts. Because the class was four hours long, they got a break half way through. This was Harry's chance to talk with 'Mark'.

Draco was talking with Mandi when they left the room. "Hey, umm, Mark?" Harry said. "Could I have a word?" He pulled him to the side. "Who's 'Mark'?"

"I am."

"Not as I recall."

"Then you must be mistaking me for someone else."

"I know it's you Malfoy." Draco pulled him away from everyone else.

"Alright, it's me. I changed my name. How else would I get into a place like this with my record?"

"How did you change it? Don't you have to go to the ministry for that anyway?"

Draco came closer to him. "Draco Malfoy is dead. He jumped off a building and died. I am Mark Lucas, no relation. Got it?"

"If you're dead then how are you here?"

"I polyjuiced a homeless person to look like me."

"That's your favorite potion, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Ask anyone and they'll tell you I'm dead. As far as the ministry knows I'm a boy from America with English parents who wanted to send me back for a good education."

"That was very clever of you."

"Slytherins are supposed to be clever. I never let my house down. I did a favor for you now you should do one for me. You won't say anything, will you?"

"Say anything about what?" Harry put his arm around Draco's shoulders. "There's nothing to say, Mark, old buddy."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Extremely."

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Harry walked back into Grimmauld Place. Hermione and Ron were in the living room with books and parchment spread everywhere. Harry let them use the house whenever they wanted. Hermione had a key, as Ron would probably end up loosing it. "How'd it go?" Ron asked.

"More exciting than watching the grass grow, but slightly less thrilling than watching paint dry."

"Then I can't wait for three o'clock." They had the same class in the afternoon. Unlike Harry, they had actually scheduled in advance.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it will be more interesting than the class we had in Hogwarts," Hermione said.

"Only a tad," Harry said, sitting next to Ron. "What are you working on? You haven't had any classes yet."

"Yes, but you know the world might stop if Hermione Granger isn't ahead of schedule," Ron said. Hermione glared at him.

"Was there an assignment?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. The first six chapters are due in two weeks."

"Good. I've already started on them." Ron rolled his eyes. "At least I'm not like some people, who haven't even bought the book yet."

"Why do I need it when we have the same class?" Ron asked. "I'll be copying out of yours and Harry's anyway."

Harry looked up at the clock. Ginny wouldn't be home for another twenty minutes. "Do you want to go to lunch, after Ginny comes home?" Hermione asked.

"If you're paying." Ron mumbled.

"I don't have any wizard money. I live with muggles most of my time, remember?"

"I'll pay," Harry said, staring at the clock. "I always end up paying anyway." They sat there, watching Hermione do whatever it was that she was doing, until Ginny came home. She burst through the door with a large stack of books in her hands. Harry got up to help her.

"Ginny?" Hermione said. "We were going to go to lunch, if you want to come along."

"Sure," she replied. "Just let me go set these upstairs." Harry followed her with part of her stack.

They set them on her desk. She turned around and kissed him. "I missed you."

"It was less than five hours."

"So?" She kissed him again. "How was it?"

"Thrilled me to tears. But I found a friend."

"Really? Who?"

"Some girl. Her name is Mandi."

"A girl, hmm? A pretty girl?"

Harry sighed. "Don't start."

"I was only kidding." She put her arm through his. "Lunch?"

"Of course."


	2. The Return of Bellatrix

Note: Sorry all. It wouldn't let me upload, dunno why... Anyway, here's more.  
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Wizard's Flu is a very curious disease. It is the only known virus that only affects magical peoples: further more; it does not only attack the wizard's body, but his magic as well. It is a crippling disease that can leave the magical person in bed for months as they try to recover both their immune system and their magic. Like malaria, it can relapse often and without warning. Only the very strong survive.

Harry, of course, had had this flu two years ago, after a run in with a Death Eater. He survived thanks to large amounts of potions and rest. His magic had not been fully recovered by the time he had fought Voldemort for the last time. The killing curse had nearly killed the killer.

The winter after that, he relapsed. He missed a month of school and had nearly had to repeat the year. Hermione, thankfully, had helped him through it. Now he was better, but he had to be careful: the slightest cold could mean a relapse, which he could not afford. For a while, anytime he sneezed everyone would get excited, until he assured them that he was alright.

He was really fully recovered. The healers even thought he was healthier than before he had been sick. The only downside to the whole thing was that he had become extremely lazy.

"Don't you have a paper to write?" Hermione asked.

"Since when has that ever motivated us before?" Ron mumbled.

"Seeing as this paper is a big part of your grade, and your grade determines if -"

"Okay, okay. If it shuts you up." As they argued, Harry was looking at a book, trying very hard to read it, but his brain didn't feel like it.

"I'm too tired to do this," Harry said.

"But you've slept all day."

"You're point?"

"Can't argue with that logic," Ron said. Hermione threw a look at him.

"Just start it, at least. Here, I'll help you."

"But you won't help me?" Ron asked.

"You've already started. He hasn't." She got up and sat next to him. "Okay, so it's on... the origin of protective charms. What do you know on protective charms?"

"They protect people."

"Yes… and?"

"And… they're charms."

"What's this book on?" She pulled up the cover. "Harry!"

"What?"

"This book isn't even on charms! It's on quidditch!" She pulled the book off of him and went over to a pile of her books. Ron high-fived Harry while she wasn't looking. "Here. Try this."

"'History of Charms'. Sounds riveting."

"It will help more than 'International Quidditch Techniques'."

"Okay, okay."

"Read it."

"I am."

"And you," she said to Ron, "get to work."

"Yes mother." The three of them sat there, one working and the other two half asleep. Harry took notes on it, hoping that somehow it would come together to make a paper. About a half hour later, he closed the book and dropped his head on it.

"How's it coming?" Hermione asked.

"Wonderfully," Harry mumbled into the book. He just noticed that Ron wasn't in the room anymore. "Where did Ronnykins go?"

"Not to the library. He's probably in the kitchen, eating all of your food."

"There's nothing in there anyway. Why do you think I'm always at the Burrow?"

"Did that book help?"

"Yeah, I guess." Just then, Ginny walked in. She ran over and kissed him, and then ran upstairs. "Someone's a tad happy."

"A tad?"

"I'm going to take this stuff upstairs," Harry said, handing Hermione her book back.

"Mmm hmm," she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Hermione…"

"What?"

"That's you and Ronny that you're thinking about, not me."

"Will you stop it already with those names?"

"But you call him that. Why can't I?"

"Harry!" She sighed. "Well, you'd better go take those 'books' upstairs."

"I will." He picked up his things and went upstairs. Ginny wasn't in their room, but she was somewhere nearby. He could hear her walking around. She came quickly through the door.

"Hello there handsome," she said. She threw her arms around him and kissed him.

"Where've you been?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out of the house." She laughed. "Come on, Harry. I had a class this morning."

"Yeah, at eight. It's almost ten at night. I doubt one class lasted longer than twelve hours."

"Class was over at noon. Then I went out with my friends. Or aren't I allowed to have any friends?"

"I just want you to be careful, that's all."

"Careful of what? There's nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself."

Harry sighed. "Fine." He walked away, not sure why he was feeling so angry. He walked into the kitchen. Sure enough, Ron was there, eating ice cream out of the container.

"How long did it take her to notice I left?" Ron asked.

"Not very long. She doesn't miss much." He grabbed a spoon and joined Ron. The Prophet was spread out on the table. "Whatcha reading?"

"Sports section. Quidditch world cup is in France this year. Maybe you could get us in."

"If I knew how to speak French. But I guess we could always take Fleur. I'm sure she'd do anything to get away from those kids for a while."

"I know. I'm amazed they haven't made more." Harry laughed, when something caught his eye. The front page was just under the sports section. He pulled it out.

Harry dropped his spoon. "What?" Ron asked. Harry handed him the page and left the room. He went out the front door and sat on the steps of Grimmauld Place.

It can't be, he thought. It's supposed to be over. It is over.

On the front page of the Prophet had been a very large picture of the Dark Mark, with a smaller picture of Bellatrix Lestrange. He didn't have to read the article to know what it was about, or to know that soon reporters would be swarming around him again.

I must have been seeing things, he thought. I'm paranoid. It couldn't have been there. It's over. It's been over.

Bellatrix had never been caught. Neither had Pettigrew, but no one was really worried about him. If Bellatrix had started attacking people again… No, they can't bring him back. There's no body. The Ministry destroyed it. They'd need that, and me, and they won't get either of them.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, coming outside slowly. She had noticed him burst outside suddenly.

"I'm fine."

She sat next to him. "Umm… I saw the paper. This morning."

"And you didn't say anything to me?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"Well, you did a good job of that."

"It's not that bad. I mean… they can't do anything, can they? Not without -"

"Hermione, I really just need to be alone for a bit, okay?" He got up and walked down the road, not sure where he was going or why.


	3. Chocolate War

Notes: Yes, Bellatrix Lestrange. I need to get a bad guy (or in this case girl) from somewhere.

Would Harry be Harry if he weren't extremely angst all of the time?

I've been asked by several people (on here and elsewhere) to tell them what happened between my last story and this one. Sorry but you'll have to wait. If it's important it'll be in the story.

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At the end of a road named Godric's Hollow is a small hill, and on this hill is a graveyard. Somewhere near the top of the hill are two graves with an open space nearby. One says James Potter; the other Lily Potter.

Harry sometimes went there when he wanted to be alone. No one really knew it was there (at least no one that liked to visit often). He never told anyone where he was going when he went there, not even Ginny.

The open space nearby he had already reserved for himself.

Harry lied there, looking up at the clouds. He hoped that, maybe, if he closed his eyes, he would wake up and anything he had read in the Prophet would no longer exist. But he knew that would never happen.

Everything had been going the wrong way recently. He had been having problems with school. Ron and Hermione were too into each other to notice him much. 'Mark' had diverted much of Mandi's attention for the last few weeks. Ginny would much rather be with her friends than with him. And now, Bellatrix just had to stick herself in as well.

Honestly, he wasn't very worried about her or any other Death Eater. The article had just surprised him, that's all. They couldn't do much to him. What was the worst they could do? Kill him? I'd probably be happier dead, he thought. No, the worst would be if they took Ginny. But then he'd go get her back. If they killed her, death would definitely be happier for him. Either way I end up dead.

Well, it's really not that bad, he told himself. It's been worse. And it'll get better. It always does.

He had been there for hours. If the people on the street below could see him, they probably thought he was a body they forgot to burry, or someone who really liked dead people. They weren't of any concern to him. He didn't even know who they were.

He felt something wet hit his face. It was starting to rain. Harry figured he should get up – someone might be wondering where he went. He was a bit muddy from the already moist ground, but by the time he reached the bottom of the hill all the mud had been washed off of him.

He popped to the end of Grimmauld Place and walked slowly toward the old house. The violent rain slammed into him, and the wind knocked him over various times, but he kept at his slow pace. By the time he entered the invisible house he was completely drenched.

"Hello?" he heard. Ginny came around the corner. "Harry! You're soaked! Where have you been? You didn't even tell me you were leaving."

"Now you know how it feels," he grumbled moodily, and went upstairs. He peeled the wet clothes off of himself and left them in the bathroom. Then he went into his room and put on dry clothes.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, coming into the room.

"Spectacular."

"Well, I made dinner, if you're interested in eating it."

"Sorry, I'm not very hungry." He grabbed a key off of his dresser and pushed past her.

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The highest room in the house, other than the attic, was always locked. No one could get in there without the key and the password. Harry slipped the key into the door and said the word, then went quietly into the room.

This was the most important part of the entire house. Inside was everything that Harry thought valuable (except Ginny). Everything that Dumbledore had left to him and some things of Sirius' that he had found around the house took up most of the space. There were shelves full of memories in bottles and a large pensive in one corner. On a shelf above the fireplace was a sword with the name Godric Gryffindor in it. Scattered throughout the space were various items that used to be horcruxes. And, in the far corner, was a very large mirror covered up with an old sheet.

Harry dropped to the floor and stretched out; listening to the rain hit the roof. He didn't know why he felt so depressed. He hadn't felt like that in a long time, not since…

Harry sighed. He could hear Ginny rustling around below him. He thought about how selfish he had been recently, especially toward Ginny. She deserves some time to herself, he told himself. She stuck by you through the whole Voldemort thing, and she took care of you when you were sick. And how have you repaid her?

I should apologize to her, he thought. He pushed himself off the floor. Then he caught sight of himself in a mirror on a table.

Harry stared at himself, not believing that he was seeing the same person. You really do look like a homeless person, he thought. His clothes were dirty. He hadn't shaved in forever (and looked like he hadn't bathed in forever either). Well, if you're going to say anything to Ginny, you'd better clean yourself up first.

After doing that, he found Ginny curled up in an arm chair, reading the paper. He sat down across from her. "Ginny?"

"Hmm?"

"How long have I been like this?"

"Like what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't know how long. I haven't been keeping track."

Harry leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Ginny got up and sat next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what's been wrong with me," he mumbled into his hands.

"Obviously you're depressed about something. I didn't know what was in the paper would upset you so much."

"That's not it. I knew there'd always be someone trying to kill me. I –" he sighed.

"Yes?"

"The reason I wanted to kill Voldemort was to get him back for all the people he's killed. Like I was revenging them… But Bellatrix is something different. As far as I'm concerned, she killed Sirius. And seeing her still going about killing other people is like… I don't know. I feel like… like…" he sighed again, "like I let him down."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," she said, rubbing his shoulder. "You could still kill her. She's not immortal."

"True. It just bothers me, is all."

"Don't let it bother you."

"I try not to. But everything is so frustrating."

"How?"

"I got used to the fact that I wasn't going to live long enough to have a future, so I gave up whatever I thought I could have. So now that I do have a future, I don't know what to do with it. I don't even want to be an auror anymore. I'm tired of chasing bad guys around and being the hero. So now what do I do? I don't know what I'm good at anymore, except killing people that make me mad."

"No wonder you're so depressed, if you keep telling yourself these things. I'll tell you what you're good at." She thought for a second. "Well, you're good at catching death eaters, but you already said that. And… you're good at magic."

"It's the same thing, Ginny."

"And you're good at being sarcastic and angry."

"Which isn't going to help me in any job market."

"And… you're good at quidditch."

"Which I can't play anymore. You see? No matter where I go I end up with something I can't use."

"Why can't you play quidditch anymore?"

"My knee. Plus I'd probably pass out if I went to fast. I can't even walk up stairs properly anymore."

"You don't need your legs to play quidditch."

"If I want to land I do. Unless I'm just going to fall off."

Ginny sighed. "Well it looks like you're screwed," she said sarcastically.

"I could have told you that ten minutes ago."

"I know what you need. Something to make you happy… hmmm… I know." She got up and went into the kitchen. He heard her rattle some things around, then she returned with a plate full of brownies. "These always make me feel better." She handed one to him. "Come on, eat it."

She picked one up for herself, while Harry just stared at the one in his hand. Then she took hers and shoved it into his face. Harry jumped back, the left side of his glasses smeared with chocolate. She laughed. He threw his brownie in her hair. A brownie war began, in which no piece of chocolate was left in one piece.


	4. Dinner with a Dementor

Notes: Some Harry/Ginny romantic time, cause I don't get to write about it nearly enough. Then back to business.

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"Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"Girl help." The two of them were sitting in Ron's room at the Burrow. It was lunch time, so they didn't have to worry about him coming in on the conversation. Ginny had a class.

"Oh, I see. So, what did you mess up that you need to fix?"

"Well, I think that I've been… neglecting Ginny."

"How?"

"She's always been willing to help me, but I haven't really done anything for her. I mean, all through the whole Voldemort thing and being sick, she was always by my side."

"And you want to give her something back."

"Yeah. But I don't know what to do. I can't buy her anything because she won't accept it. She wouldn't want to go anywhere fancy either."

"Hmm…" Hermione thought for a few minutes. "Oh! I have one! Make dinner for her."

"But I can't cook."

"You don't need to."

"Then how -"

"Quiet I'm thinking." She got up and paced for a bit, muttering to herself. "Is there a night when you are both at home?"

"Tonight, after she gets back from class. But that's in three hours."

"That's plenty of time for us to -"

"I don't want us to do it. I want to do it. That's the whole point."

"Sorry, Harry, but you're not exactly the most romantically inclined person."

"I know."

"And you already said you can't cook."

"Yeah?"

"So I'll help you set it up, and then you can take it from there."

He thought about it for a second. "Alright. It's better than nothing."

"Then let's go. We don't have much time." She ran down the stairs with Harry right behind her. Ron found them at the door.

"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?"

"Not now Ron," Hermione said. "I need to help Harry be romantic."

"Oh… good luck with that." Harry pushed him.

"Stop it," Hermione said. "Come on Harry." They ran outside and apparated away.

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"Alright Harry. Go outside and clean it up a bit."

"Why?"

"Cause that's where you'll be eating."

"I'm glad I have a say in this." He headed for the door.

"Well, make it pretty out there. I'll start working on the food."

"How do you know what she likes?"

"There's going to be chocolate in there somewhere. Any woman likes that."

Harry thought that Hermione was getting a little too excited about the situation. He cleaned up the back porch of Grimmauld Place and put a table and chairs at one end. I guess the most female thing I could do is add flowers, he thought. They usually like flowers. So he added flowers, and vines, and other kinds of silly love things. Then he went back inside. Hermione was almost done with the dinner.

"That was quick."

"Amazing the things you can do with magic. Go upstairs and get changed. She'll be here in an hour."

Harry sighed and went upstairs. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to wear to something like this, but he put on something presentable, hoping it would work.

On his way back down, he had a thought. He flicked his wand. Several pieces of paper flew out and positioned themselves at the right places. He smiled and went back to Hermione. She was done with the food and was outside, changing most of what Harry had spent an hour and a half doing.

"I think you've done enough."

"I was only adding a few things."

He pointed to a decorative iron thing that she had turned the railings into. "A few?"

"Oh, you know she'll like it. I should get going, before she comes."

"Thanks," Harry mumbled.

"Sure. I love doing these kinds of things. I don't seem like the kind of person that would, but I am." She snuck off down the road.

Just then, the front door opened. Harry stopped and listened. She must have seen the notes, because she followed them upstairs. Harry knew he had a few minutes - the one at the top told her to 'make herself pretty', which usually took a while for any female to do, even Ginny.

He snuck into the kitchen and brought the plates to the table. He heard something. Music. For crying out loud Hermione…

Ginny started coming downstairs. Harry opened the doors and stood between the kitchen and the porch, waiting for her. She spotted him and then continued shyly. "Hey there,' she said.

"Hi."

"What's all the notes about?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh, don't act like you didn't do it." She came up to him, and he stepped aside to let her enter. She was obviously surprised. "Wow… Harry…"

"Sit down and eat." She sat, and she ate. Harry didn't eat. For some reason he had suddenly become extremely nervous, like it was the first time he had been alone with her. He no longer felt like eating. He didn't know what he felt like, but it wasn't eating.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"You aren't eating. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just… not hungry. I ate when I came home." Lies, part of his brain said. All lies. But good lies.

"Oh. Well then, why did you make something for yourself?"

"I didn't." She raised her eyebrows. Harry sighed. "Hermione did. Actually, she did all of this. I just… left the notes."

"Oh."

He sighed again. "Yeah. I didn't do any of this. I – just forget it."

She scooted her chair over to him and put her arm around him. "It's okay. It was still your idea, right?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, I'm sure Hermione didn't tell you to do all this. So that much counts for something."

"Yeah, but -"

She got up and pulled his arm. "Come on. Dance with me."

"Ginny…"

"Come on." He got up and she pulled him toward her.

"You know I'm no good at dancing."

"It doesn't matter. Neither of us are professional ballroom dancers." She pushed herself up against him and made him move. He felt more nervous than ever, and still wasn't sure why. She laughed. "Stop being so nervous."

"What?"

"Come on. Relax. There's no need to be nervous." Harry felt himself relax a bit, but not enough. She sighed. "This isn't working. Neither of us are comfortable like this."

"Well, I -" She reached up and kissed him in mid-sentence.

"I'm going to go change." She walked away, then turned back. "Wouldn't you like to be in something… more comfortable?" Harry wanted to say something, but nothing would come out. His brain was too distracted to make words.

She walked away. He stayed there, until his brain figured out that he should follow her. He walked quickly and caught her half way up the stairs, turning her around quickly and kissing her.

She laughed and continued on. He pulled her toward him and then pushed her against the wall, kissing her again and again.

((I think we all know where it's going from there. I can't post anything too racy or I'd have to up the rating, and then some of you wouldn't be able to read it, and then you'd become an angry mob…))

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Harry woke up late that night (or early the next morning, whichever it was) and was extremely hungry. He got up slowly, so as not to wake Ginny, and then went downstairs to raid the refrigerator.

When he was done, he lied down on a couch, too full to want to walk back upstairs. Then he fell back to sleep. Later he woke up again and went back upstairs. Ginny rolled over and put her arm around him when he got back in bed.

"Where'd you go?"

"I was hungry."

"Oh… are you cold? I'm really cold." Harry hadn't thought about it, but it was very cold in the room. It hadn't been as cold downstairs. And as he thought about it, it got even colder.

"Something isn't right," Harry said, getting out of bed slowly. He went into the hallway. It was warmer there, but colder in the room. Ginny followed him. A shadow passed over the window.

"What is it?"

"Stay here." He started to go back into the room.

"Harry…"

"I'm just getting my wand." He left her and went slowly into the room. The shadow passed again. He grabbed his wand and went back to Ginny. "It's a dementor."

"I know, but why? It can't see us, can it?"

"No. But I think it knows we're here. It just can't see us."

"It can't get in… can it?"

"I hope not." They waited. The room didn't get any warmer. "Persistent little thing, isn't it?"

"Why won't it leave?"

"I don't know." The shadow passed one more time, and then the room warmed up a bit. "I'll go see if it's gone."

"Be careful." Harry snuck up to the window and looked out. There was nothing there. He took a deep breath and looked around again.

Suddenly, the dementor appeared in front of him. Harry gasped and fell backward, hearing a small scream in his ears. The dementor seemed as if it looked at him for a moment, and then flew on. The room grew warmer. Harry let himself fall backward.

He wasn't sure if the scream he had heard was because of the dementor or from Ginny. Either way, she was at his side quickly, handing him some chocolate. Harry leaned back against her.


	5. Depression

Notes: Sorry that last chapter wasn't as good. And that I've been taking so long. I graduate from high school this Friday, so everything's been going everywhere.This is like thecrappy in between story. The next one will be better, I swear.So anyway, onward!

------------------------------------

Harry burst into the kitchen. He let the Order use the house as a HQ still, as long as they let him in. He figured that he was close enough to being an auror, and they were in his kitchen...

Tonks looked shocked as he entered. "Harry?" Also in the room were Moody and a few younger people. Lupin was locked up somewhere as it was that time of the month.

"Tell me: why would a dementor leave Azkaban?"

"Because someone told it to. But the only person they've ever listened to was Voldemort." Tonks said.

"Exactly. Then why was there one outside this house the other night?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Well, someone had better go check Azkaban."

Moody stood up, looking annoyed. "Well, someone had better stop bossing his superiors around; especially since this someone isn't a real auror yet."

Harry wasn't afraid at all. "This is my house. If you want to keep meeting here you'd better listen to me once in a while." Moody sat back down. "The last time I subtly tried to suggest something I was ignored. So now I'm not going to be so subtle, especially when it means the safety of myself and Ginny."

"Okay, Harry, we'll send someone out there tonight," Tonks said, obviously to shut him up.

"Good," Harry said. He sat down at the other end of the table. "Go on with whatever you were doing."

The others looked around uncomfortably. "We were discussing Bellatrix Lestrange," the one said.

"Yes. She was in the paper again."

"Killed three muggles for no apparent reason."

"The ministry's all got their undies in a bundle."

"There's always something wrong with the ministry," Harry mumbled. "They're a bunch of incompetent children."

"For once I agree with the boy," Moody said. Harry glanced at him sideways. He was about to say something about the words 'the boy', but stopped himself. "The ministry has never had control over anything, except the people's minds. And sometimes not even that."

"So, what now?" one of the young aurors asked.

"There's really nothing we can do, except try to figure out where she'll be next," Tonks said. "And try to get there before she does."

They continued the conversation for a long time. It became obvious that they had no idea where Bellatrix was. Harry stood up. "If you find her, let me know. I have some unfinished business with her."

"Harry..." Tonks started, but he had already left.

---------------------------------------------------

Harry went upstairs. It was quiet there. No one would bother him. Quiet... and cold. Very cold. Winter was coming early. He didn't care if he was cold. He was alone, and it was quiet.

Sometimes he hated the Order, even Tonks. They seemed like they never knew anything. Like they weren't even useful until something bad came up, then they rushed in to save the day. Kind of a boring existence. He decided that, if he ever did make it through school, that he was never going to join the Order.

He grabbed a key and crossed the hall. Once in the room he sunk down into a chair. He heard the Order leaving below him. Good, he thought. How long could they talk about something they know nothing about?

I need to find something to do, he told himself. Something that I haven't done before. He found that when he just went to school, it felt a lot like Hogwarts, which made everything come flooding back and made him more depressed than usual... I need to find something to do, he thought again. Something that will get my mind off of... everything...

A door closed beneath him. Ginny... he got up to go meet her. She had fallen onto a couch in the living room, looking very tired. He leaned on the back of the couch and looked down at her. "Hi." She moaned and rolled over. "Nice to see you too."

She laughed. "I'm so tired of doing school work. I feel like I should be done already."

"I was thinking..." he started.

"Yes?"

"That I need to find something to do."

"Ummhmm."

"But I don't know what."

"Hmm... you should join quidditch."

"No."

"Try outs are this weekend."

"We already had this conversation."

"I still think you should."

"And I'm still not going to," Harry said, getting annoyed. The last thing he wanted to do was play quidditch. If all he did was school and quidditch... that was the same thing he had done at Hogwarts... and that didn't help his situation at all. "I was thinking that I should get a job."

"Where at?"

"I dunno. But it will give me something to do. Maybe I won't be as lazy."

"I doubt that," Ginny joked.

"And, I know I have enough money, but it won't last forever. So I can make some extra money, you know, if we need something later, and -"

"Aww!" She reached up and hugged him.

"What?"

"You said 'we'."

"For crying out loud..." She hugged him again. "Fine then. Me."

"No, it's too late. You already said it."

"Do you know if Fred and George need anyone?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I don't have a clue. You'd have to ask them." She kissed him. "You're so sweet sometimes."

----------------------------------

"Sorry, Harry," George said. "We don't need any new people at the moment."

"But we're opening another store soon," Fred said.

"Yeah. And we'll need managers there."

"So we'll keep you in mind." They were in the store in Diagon Alley as it was being bombarded by a pack of small children. "I heard there are stores that need people in Hogsmeade."

"Yeah, since the school wasn't open last year they lost a lot of business and many workers quit."

"Maybe someone down there will hire you. Sorry, wish we could help more." Harry left quickly, getting annoyed at the troops of kids. Hogsmeade... I'm better off playing quidditch, he thought. So many things had happened in Hogsmeade as well...

Stop it already, he told himself. You're being a child. So what if something reminds you of Hogwarts? It's all in the past. You can't fix it now. Let it go. Some part of his brain remembered the time turners... no, the other part said. They were all broken. And it takes a while to make a new one. Plus you'd probably end up messing things up more. So just forget it. Let it go.

But he couldn't let it go. Don't think about it. The past always follows you, he thought. You can't get rid of it. Deal with it. You need to get on with your life. You can't spend all of your time being lazy and depressed. It's hurting you. It's hurting Ginny. Something there touched him. He didn't care if he were hurting himself, but if he was hurting Ginny... Go to Hogsmeade, he told himself. Get a job. Get out of this rut while you still can.

But he couldn't get himself to go. He went back to Grimmauld Place. No matter how long he spent trying to convince himself, he couldn't do it. You have to. You have to do it...

He sat in Grimmauld Place for at least an hour. He told himself he had to go for it. No matter what happened, he had to.But still, he couldn't. It's funny, he thought. Before I couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts, and now I'd rather hang myself with barbed wire.

It wasn't that Dumbledore wasn't there anymore. He was over that now. But so many other things had happened there. Things that if he had done it differently he might have a different life now. Things that were his fault... And everytime he thought about the school, or anything nearby, everything bad that had happened ran back into his mind. Everything that he had worked so hard to forget came back like water behind a broken dam. It had made Hogwarts an ugly thing, something he didn't want to see anymore.

He lied down. He wasn't going anywhere now. He had depressed himself too much. Everything was trapped in his head. He needed to get it out, but he couldn't. He didn't know how.


	6. Brain by a String

Notes: I've been getting a lot of grief (not here, on other places) about how Harry is acting. But think about it – if almost everyone you've ever loved died (or was hurt very badly) trying to save you, wouldn't it get to your head eventually? So I added this chapter to help some of the slower people out there understand.

-----------------

Harry snuck down the stairs. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were in the kitchen. And he knew they were talking about him.

"It's just that it's been scaring me lately, is all," Ginny was saying.

"Well, if the same thing happened to you, wouldn't you act that way?" Hermione said.

"Yes, but it's not me."

"Congratulations. You've discovered that Harry is, in fact, a normal person."

"He never let things like that bother him. But now he does. I don't know why it's changed so suddenly."

"He was like this before," Ron pointed out. "before you were kidnapped two years ago. We had to force him to look for horcruxes. It was like he didn't care anymore. But then you were kidnapped, and he sprung into action."

"And remember after Sirius died?" Hermione said. "He wouldn't even talk to us for the longest time." There was a pause, and then she continued. "I think he always pushed it out of his mind to concentrate on getting Voldemort and all that."

"But now that Voldemort's gone he has nothing to distract himself with," Ginny said quietly.

"Exactly. And he's starting to think about everything that's happened, and now he can't get it out of his head."

"I think," Ron said, "that somehow he's convinced himself that everything that's happened – Sirius, Dumbledore, all of that – was his fault."

"But it's not."

"But that's what he thinks. Go try to talk with him about Sirius and see how far you get. I think he can live with them being dead, but he can't get rid of the thought that they died for him. In his mind that's as good as if he would have done it himself."

"Plus how you were hurt," Hermione said, referring to Ginny. "How you're head got practically beaten in. You should have seen his face in the hospital, when he thought you were dead. And when he came home he couldn't sit still. If he could have walked he would have been pacing. He blames himself for how you got hurt, and for everything else along the way."

"I just wish there was someway I could help him," Ginny said.

"You're not going to get him to change his mind," Ron said. "Believe me, I've tried."

"You have to let him go and hope he sorts it out on his own. Harry's one of those people that hold stuff in. He's not going to talk with you about any of it. So just let him know you're there for him, and hope for the best."

Harry stopped listening and went back upstairs. It was true. Every word that they had said was true. After Sirius died he had been able to push it out of his mind, but now he couldn't. Everything kept coming back, and once one thing left two more would show up. He stopped half way up and sat on the stairs. There has to be a better way to do this.

Ginny arrived on the stairs. "I guess you heard that." He nodded. "Are you okay?" He nodded again. She sat down next to him and put her hand on his back. He leaned against her.

"There has to be some way to fix this," he said. "Magic fixes everything else. Why couldn't it fix this?"

"I could always hex you." Harry laughed. "Or I'm sure Hermione knows something that could make you forget you're a person."

"Then what would I be?"

"I'm not sure. What would you want to be?"

"I think being a person is a pretty good deal."

"Yeah, me too." He sat there for a while, leaning against Ginny and thinking of how funny it would be if a person thought they were an animal, when –

"A pensive."

"Hmm?"

"A pensive. I need to learn how to use a pensive."

"Do you have a pensive to use?"

"Yeah, upstairs in that room -" He stopped, realizing that she didn't know anything about that room other than that it was there.

"The one I've never been in?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Oh... I don't know anything about using a pensive. At least not how to put new memories into one."

"Neither do I."

"I'm sure there's someone you can ask though. Remus would know."

"Yeah, but he's locked up at the moment. Unless I wait until the end of the week."

--------------------

"Remus?"

"Harry?"

"Could I ask you something?"

"Obviously." They were in the living room of Grimmauld Place. Harry had finally gotten Tonks to go away for a moment so that they could talk.

"Well, I need you to do me a favor. To teach me something."

"That seems to be all that people use me for."

"I need to know how to use a pensive. I mean, how to take memories out of your head and put them into a pensive."

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "So I suppose you have a few things bothering you that you would like to have removed?"

"Just a few."

"All you do is think about the memory, then put your wand to your temple and pull it out."

"That's it?"

"That's it. But you have to think of only that memory, or else it will get confuse with other ones. It feels a little odd, like a piece of your brain being pulled out by a string. So maybe you want to start with one that's easier to think about to get the feeling out of the way."

"I thought it would be harder than that."

"Nope. Just don't do too many at once. You don't want to fry your brain. You'll still have the memory in your head, it just won't be as clear as before. So don't use this as some miracle treatment. Magic can't fix everything, Harry."

------------

Harry sat in the room in front of the pensive, with his wand ready. He hoped that he wouldn't kill his brain by doing this, but it was his only hope. He couldn't go on living depressed and sad in bed forever. He had left the door to the room open, just in case.

He needed a memory that wasn't too hard to think about, but also one that he wouldn't mind not having in his head. He decided on when he had gotten chosen for the Tournament. It was significantly less dramatic than other things that had happened, and he preferred not to be reminded of it.

Here it goes, he thought. He held his wand to the side of his head and thought hard about the memory. Then he pulled his wand away. It felt exactly like he was yanking part of his brain out through a small hole. His head felt compressed in the way it did when he apparated. But then it was over. The memory swirled in front of him in a little silver stream. He put it in the pensive and looked down into it. That wasn't that bad, he thought. He bottled that memory, then sat back down and started the next one.

Three hours later, Ginny entered and found Harry slumped over near the pensive. She went over to him. "You okay?"

He nodded. "I just feel… really tired."

"Stop this for now. Here." She put her arms around him and helped him up. She led him to a couch in the room. Harry was too tired to resist. "Rest for a little bit."

She covered him with a blanket and then went over to the pensive. The memory in there was so long that it had taken him nearly ten minutes to pull out. She bottled it for him and set it by the rest. In all there were fourteen bottles, and he hadn't even gotten to Dumbledore or Sirius yet. As he had looked for easy memories he had found a bunch that he could do without – everything from Fluffy to the Yule Ball to what he had learned in class last week – and had taken them out instead of the memories he needed to remove. They could wait until later, he decided. Ginny came back over to him and ran her fingers through his hair until he fell to sleep.

End notes: These memories will be very helpful later, which is why I'm taking all this time talking about them. Remember how Dumbledore showed Harry Voldemort's life in HBP? Kind of the same thing is going to happen in my next story, so I needed to provide a place for those memories to come from.


	7. An Unexpected Christmas Guest

Notes: Sorry! It wouldn't let me upload. Anyway, I know this one's been a little slow and boring, but there's some stuff I have to get through before we move on. Basically I have to show you what's happened to Percy since we've seen him last, then have Bellatrix leave a cliffhanger. Then we can move on.

-----------------------------------

Harry was tied to a table. He wasn't sure why. Where was he? He didn't know that either.

He heard a bubbling noise. To his right, below him, was a large rectangular cauldron type thing, bubbling horribly. He wondered what was in it. He could have sworn he saw a face in it…

Then Bellatrix appeared. She looked down at him and laughed. She moved away and said something, but he couldn't hear her over the bubbling.

The cauldron bubbled faster. Bellatrix seemed pleased. "Yes! Yes!" she screamed. "Now, it is time."

Time for what? Harry wondered, utterly confused. A giant snake, bigger than any he had ever seen, crawled up on the table and looked at him.

Leave me alone, he hissed at the snake, but it didn't seem to understand. Bellatrix laughed at his attempt. The snake pulled its head back, ready to strike -

Harry shot up. A dream, he thought. Well, that explains a lot. "You okay?" he heard. Ginny was across the room.

"Yeah."

"Why were you sleeping? Just tired?"

"Ummhmm." She didn't say anything about the dream that he had obviously just jumped from. He leaned back.

"You know, we're almost done with our first semester of ministry school," she said, to change the subject.

He nodded. "Final exams next week."

"Don't sound so excited," she joked. "Well, then we get a month off."

"Yep."

"My mum owl-ed me today."

"Really?"

"She wants us to come to dinner at Christmas. She's invited the whole family, including any significant others and children."

"Does that include Hermione?"

Ginny laughed. "Stop making fun of Ron."

"I was just curious. Besides, you laughed."

"I'm his sister; I'm supposed to make fun of him. So – you don't plan on doing anything else on Christmas eve and day?"

"Well, I was thinking of something, but I might have to reconsider. Can't pass up your mum's food."

"What's wrong with my food?"

"Nothing. Your mum's is better."

"You don't seem to mind my food too much," Ginny said, patting his stomach (which, he had noticed, was becoming harder to fit into his pants). He moaned and rolled over. She laughed. "Well, it's almost Christmas. At least we can look forward to that."

--------------------------------------------------

On Christmas Eve, the entire Weasley family was in the Burrow (except for Percy, who hadn't been seen in a while). Mrs. Weasley made sure none of them ate that much during the day so that they would thoroughly enjoy her dinner.

Ginny kept busy by wrapping all of the presents she had bought for her brothers. Harry watched her. She had apparently already done his; either that or she didn't really get him anything. The boys of the family started a chess tournament, which

.h was all the way into a final round when dinner was ready. Even though they had spent hours playing, they all gave up the game quickly.

Harry, Ginny, Fred, and Bill sat on one side, while Ron, Hermione, Charlie, and George sat on the other. The parents sat on the ends.

Everyone was talking about everything. Harry had never really experienced a dinner with all of the Weasley kids there (minus Percy). Bill and Mr. Weasley talked about something ministry related. Ron was talking with Charlie, who was thrilled that his little brother was going into the same type of job that he had. The women talked to each other. Harry, Fred, and George just sat and ate, listening to everyone else. By the time desert came around, few of them could actually eat any more, and Harry wasn't one of them.

Ginny got up to help her mom clear the table. "Go up to my room," she said, taking his plate. Harry nodded and got up. He figured that the boys would have gone back to there game, but most of them seemed to feel the same way he did. They were sprawled all over the couches and chairs. It seemed that desert would have to wait until dinner got out of the way.

Harry went up to Ginny's room and fell asleep. When he woke up, he felt Ginny sitting next to him. Then he heard someone else come in the room. It was Mrs. Weasley.

"Do you want some cake, dear?" she asked Ginny.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute. I should let Harry know. He wouldn't want to miss out."

"He's not the only one we'll have to wake. You should hear it downstairs - six boys and no noise at all."

Ginny laughed. "We could have predicted that. You had them all looking like starved wolves in the living room before."

"Boys all want the same thing. Food and… well, you know. You'd best wake him up soon, or your brothers will eat it all." She left.

Ginny petted Harry on the head. He opened an eye. "Cake?" she asked. He shot up quickly.

"Cake?"

"You'd better hurry if you want some." Harry got up slowly, still a little full from dinner. They went down together and got their cake. The chess game had resumed. Fred and George were currently playing each other. Charlie was showing Ron some book about dangerous creatures, and Hermione was looking on interestingly as well. They all ate large amounts of cake (Mrs. Weasley had made six, so they weren't about to run out). Bill came in. He seemed to be talking on his wand, like it was a cell phone. Harry shook his head – magic amazed him every day. He was obviously talking to Fleur, who had gone to her parent's house for Christmas Eve and would be back the next day with the kids. Hermione was going to her parent's house the next day, and taking Ron with her.

Harry sat down to play against George, who had just beaten Fred, when there was a knock at the door. Everyone stopped and looked up, wondering who it could be. Mr. Weasley went to the door, but then turned and walked quickly out of the room. Charlie took on the responsibility then, since he was the next oldest. He seemed shocked as well, and opened the door.

Percy Weasley had just entered the house.


	8. K930

Every single person in the room at the moment stared in amazement. Percy entered like he still lived there, like he hadn't been away for nearly three years.

Ron stood up. "Well, I'd better go put this book away. Don't want to get it dirty."

"And I think I should help you," Hermione said.

"I don't need-"

"Yes you do." The two of them started up the stairs.

Fred and George looked at each other. "Did we leave wet exploding fireworks in the bathroom?" Fred asked.

"I think we did."

"We should go check that." The two of them got up as well. "Oh, hi Percy. Sorry, but we should get those fireworks out of the bathroom before mum finds out, you know." They hurried upstairs after Ron and Hermione.

Bill's wand started to vibrate. "Sorry, this is Fleur. I'll be right back." And he hurried into the kitchen.

Ginny started to get up, but Harry pulled her back down. "Don't you dare," he whispered. Charlie gave them both a look that said 'please don't leave me here with him'.

"Harry!" Percy said, approaching him. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long! And you as well Ginny. Doing well in school are you? How did those NEWTs go?"

"Alright," Harry mumbled.

"Not as good as I hoped, but not bad either," Ginny said.

"Very well. You know, Harry, I heard about what you did with You-Know-Who. The ministry is destroying the body. Got to see it myself. But anyway -"

"Is that my Percy?" Mrs. Weasley had just entered from the kitchen. She ran over to hug him. "Oh, Percy! I knew you'd come!" Harry and Ginny got up and snuck into the kitchen. Charlie quietly retreated upstairs.

"What does he mean, 'he heard'?" Harry whispered angrily. "Like it's something that just casually happened?"

"You know how he is, Harry," Ginny whisperred back.

"Got to see it himself, yeah, sure he did."

Mrs. Weasley came back into the kitchen, but didn't seem to notice Harry and Ginny. "Here, Percy. You must take some cake with you..."

Harry edged himself close to the door and listened. "Here," Ginny said, handing him an extendable ear from her pocket.

"You carry these around?"

"Sometimes." They knelt down and stayed quiet, listening.

"What ever happened to that girl you dated in school?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, you mean Penelope?" Percy said. "Haven't seen her since we've left."

"Oh... that's a shame. She was such a nice girl."

"I really must be going, mother. Sorry to have to leave so soon." Harry got up and pulled the ear out of his ear.

"Well that was exciting."

"Come on," Ginny said, moving back into the living room and pulling him along. Harry spotted Ron, Hermione, and Charlie not far up the stairs, listening for him to leave. Percy said good bye to his mother and left quickly.

"You all get in here this instant," Mrs. Weasley said, as if she knew they were watching on the stairs. They came back and sat, not looking at her. "He is your brother, not a radioactive monkey. Treat him better, for heaven's sake."

"Maybe he should treat us better," Ron mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Ronald Weasley -"

"Mum?" Bill interrupted. "You should go check on dad. He went outside and hasn't come back."

"Oh, Arthur," she mumbled. "I'll deal with all of you when I get back. Treating your own brother like that, on Christmas Eve..." she left in a huff after Mr. Weasley.

They sat there ackwardly, waiting for their punishment, but it never came. Mrs. Wealsey got so distraced with Mr. Weasley that she seemed to have forgot. They continued to do what they were doing before, but a lot quieter.

Fred and George eventually came back down. "Where'd you go?" Bill asked them.

"To the bathroom," George said.

"We really did leave wet exploding fireworks in there," Fred said.

"Why on Earth would you put wet exploding fireworks in the bathroom?" Charlie asked.

"Umm... who's up for some more chess?" Fred asked.

"You know, if mum would've found those..."

"We know. That's why we removed them."

"And where are they now?"

"Someplace that's dry, hopefully," Ron muttered.

"I would like to know," Charlie said. "I'm not very fond of exploding at night, you know."

"Don't worry. They're safe," George said.

"At least as safe as wet exploding fireworks can be," Fred added.

They started the tournament again. When it was obvious that Mrs. Weasley was not coming back, they began talking about Percy. "He just comes barging in, like it isn't ackward at all," Ron said.

"That's how he always is though," Bill said.

Fred and George looked around to make sure no one was listening, then called them all closer. "You know how he left as soon as they started talking about Penelope?"

"How d'you know that? You were attending to your fireworks," Charlie asked.

"We have our ways. Well, a few weeks ago, we were up in London."

"Testing a new muggle detector," George added.

"Right. So, we were about to leave when across the street we saw Penelope."

"Are you sure it was her?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but wait, it gets better."

George looked around again, then whispered "She was pregnant."

"Really?" Bill asked excitedly.

"Yes," Fred whispered. "Very pregnant."

"You don't think it was -"

"Wait, it gets even better than that. We were about to shrug it off and leave when we saw Percy come up to her and put his arm around her."

"Really?"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Yes we're sure. We all have bright red hair. You can't miss us."

"So you think the reason he was so jumpy about it is because he did something he didn't want mum to know about?" Charlie said.

"Seems likely to me," Fred said.

"Oh this is good," Ginny said.

"D'you think it could've happened by now?" Ron asked. "I mean, if he had to run off because of -"

"Probably."

Charlie shook his head. "Figures..."

"And they said we were going to be the ones that were complete failures," George said. "'Oh our Percy, he's so smart and bright. He'll be a success anywhere.' Seems to have happened the other way around, hasn't it?"

"Don't say anything to mum," Bill said. "Dad almost had a coronary when he showed up. Who knows what'll happen if they find that out."

"We weren't going to say anything," Fred said. "It's much more fun to watch him struggle with it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

They all went to bed very late that night. Harry was supposed to sleep in Ron's room and Hermione in Ginny's, but they switched quietly and no one else seemed to notice.

"So," Harry said. "What'd you get me for Christmas?"

"Nothing at all. Why do you think I'd buy you something?" Ginny joked. "You'll like it, don't worry. What'd you get me?"

"Nothing special. I don't think I'll ever be able to top two years ago."

"You mean this?" Ginny said, flashing her left hand in front of him. Two years ago, back in the middle of all the Voldemort buisness, Harry had come upon his parent's wedding rings and had given one to Ginny, as a sort of promise ring. "I think you could, if you tried hard enough. Do you ever plan on going through with that 'promise'?"

"If you want to."

"Of course I want to."

"Well, it's mostly up to the woman, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't much care if the table cloths don't match, or what music they play, or any of that."

"Okay then. I'll plan it out and let you know."

"Sounds good. Just let me know where and when to show up." Ginny laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "So how is it that we're being allowed to sleep in the same bed? Won't your mum have a fit?"

"Probably. But we can always blame it on Ron."

"Very true."

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Ginny shook Harry. "Hello sleepy. Don't you want your presents?" Harry pulled the blankets over his head. "Suit yourself." She went into her closet and began pulling out various wrapped boxes.

"How many of those are mine?" Harry asked.

"None. I told you I didn't get you anything." She picked up a bunch and headed for the door. "Yours are already down there. Hurry up, or there won't be any breakfast left. Mum made chocolate chip waffles." Harry got up slowly and grabbed his robe. By the time he got downstairs every one else was well into their breakfast. Mr. Weasley seemed unaffected by what happened the night before.

"Everyone sleep okay?" Mrs. Weasley asked. They all nodded in response. "Finish up so that we can get to those presents."

Harry didn't eat much and went back upstairs, remembering that he had left some presents for Ginny up there. Hermione followed him into Ron's room and pushed herself under the bed. "What're you doing?"

"Getting Ron's present."

"You hid it under his bed? He didn't think to look there?"

"He's not always the smartest apple on the tree." She pulled out a long box, big enough to hold a -

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Maybe. Come down and find out." She threw the box over her shoulder and went back downstairs. Harry grabbed his presents and followed.

Wrapping paper was everywhere. Harry sat next to Ginny and handed her the presents, when something large flew into his head. Fred and George smiled and nodded. "Happy Christmas Harry," they said. Harry opened it. He wasn't sure what it was, but he smiled back at them and set it on the floor, afraid it might go off.

Hermione got him a book on the Dark Arts. Then they handed him a large box which was filled with every kind of sweet he had ever seen. Harry gave Ginny some more of her presents. It continued on like that for a while.

Ron handed Hermione a present. "This one's from Harry and me." She opened it, and then hit Ron over the head with it. Harry laughed.

"Hogwarts a History the second revised edition," Hermione said, showing it to everyone.

"Includes everything that's happened there up until 1985," Harry said.

"And we know pretty much everything that's happened since then," Ron added.

When Ron was done with his other gifts, Hermione reaches behind the couch and pulled out the long box. "One more," she said.

"What's this?"

"Well, we all know that you got onto the ministry's quidditch team, so I thought you should have some updated equipment."

Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged. Ron opened it. Everyone else leaned in to have a look. Ron's mouth fell open. "A K930," he mumbled.

Harry was surprised. That was a very expensive broom. The makers of the Nimbus created a line of brooms made especially for every position. The B930 was for beaters, the S930 for seekers, the C930 for chasers, and the K930 for keepers. They were advertised to be as fast asa Firebolt with more style.

"Where did you get the money for this?"

"I have my ways," Hermione said."Oh, we should get going. I told my parents we'd be there by noon."

Ron nodded, still struck by his new broom."Can I have your old one?" Ginny asked. Ron nodded again.

"It's not nice to stare," George said.

"Go put that away, so we can go," Hermione said.

Ron got up and put the broom away, then came back down with hisbag of things to take. "Good luck," Harry whispered to him as he left. Ron rolled his eyes and followed Hermione outside.


	9. In the Future

Noties: Hi... I think I lost all of you. I know you're thinking 'where the &$&$ is this story going!' The answer - nowhere really. I'm just filling in holes, so in the next story you're not like 'when did that happen?'.

You know what, this is the last chapter. I'm anxious to move on, and I forgot what I wanted to write for this one anyhow, so enjoy!  
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School resumed as usual. Everything fell back into place. For Harry, it was as close to being normal as he ever was (or at least as normal as you can get when you area magical being). Almost a whole year of no murder attempts, no death eaters, no nothing. It was almost boring. Harry wondered where they all went. One would think that since he killed Voldemort they'd be after him more and more, but just the opposite was happening.

Harry was sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place watching Ginny make herself a sandwich. "I'm bored," he mumbled.

"Poor baby."

"No one's tried to kill me yet this year. I'm starting to think I'll have to go find them."

Ginny poked him with a plastic knife. "There. I tried. Darn knife isn't sharp enough."

"So you're on their side now?" Harry joked.

"I've always been on their side." She sat next to him and ate her sandwich. "I have to do to Diagon Alley. Wanta come?"

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Diagon Alley was back to normal as well. No one seemed worried about anything anymore. Harry was stopped by more than a few fans on the way down the street. A reporter flew out of nowhere and snapped several pictures of him and Ginny. By the time they reached the store they wanted their picture was already on everything. "Look," Harry said to her. "You're famous too."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "At least I know every girl in the country is jealous of me now."

When they left the store they were bombarded again. Eventually everyone was satisfied that they had taken pictures of every inch of Harry's body and touched him everywhere and said everything to him, and they began to leave him alone. He and Ginny wandered around, not looking at anything in particular. Ginny stopped to buy something for a potion. Harry moved to the other side of the street to look at an owl desplay. Everything seemed okay, until -

Harry turned quickly. He could have sworn he heard Ginny scream. It's in your head, he told himself. You're just paranoid. But he looked anyway. She wasn't where she was before. He looked up and down the street. She wasn't there either. Then he saw something moving in an alley next to the potions shop...

I knew it was too good to be true, Harry thought. He pulled out his wand and headed across the street. No one else seemed to notice that someone had just taken a girl into the alley. And, yet again, I'm on my own.

He came to an open area behind a shop. Ginny was cowering against a wall. He went to her quickly."Ginny -"

"Look out!" she shrieked. Harry looked. Across the opening was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry stood up a bit and put himself in front of Ginny.

"Well, look who decided to come out," Bellatrix said, coming closer. "I guess you just couldn't resist the popularity, could you?"

"It's about time you showed up," Harry said. "I was wondering where you went. Hiding because the master is dead, right?"

Bellatrix seemed angry. "He is NOT dead!"

"Oh, I assure you, he is. Now, what is it you wanted? We're in a hurry..."

"The Dark Lord will rise again!"

"Good luck with that. Can we go now?"

Bellatrix came very close to him. Harry was amazed at himself. He wasn't afraid at all. He just stood there, looking bored, as if it were Hermione getting in his face and not a death eater. "Do not under estimate the powers of dark magic," she hissed.

"I wouldn't dare. Are you finished?"

Bellatrix sneered at him. Then her eyes flicked down to Ginny. She smiled and looked back at Harry. "Hmmm, yes... In time. In time! There is a spell. It will happen, in time." She looked down at Ginny again. "There is no denying that. It will happen, and the Dark Lord will return... in time." She turned away from them, walked away, then turned back to look at them again. "I'll be seeing you two again. In a few years... in time..." Bellatrix smiled evily and then vanished.

Ginny stood up behind Harry. "What was that about?"

"Dunno. Maybe she's lost it."

"It had something to do with me and you. In a few years... what's going to happen in a few years?"

"If I knew that we would be extremely less confused." Harry headed back for Diagon Alley.

"But, do you think it's real? A spell that brings back the dead, that could bring him back?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

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- Fin -

So many things left unanswered - Has Bellatrix lost it? Will Voldemort return? What will happen in a few years? Where did Fred and George put those wet exploding fireworks? Stay tuned...


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